Looking for some advice for my 10 Y.O. Siberian Husky (F).
About a year ago, she had 2 grand mal seizures on 2 separate days, about a month apart (both days on hot, sunny days with light exercise) - we brought her to the vet both times with no major findings from bloodwork or physical examination. Given late onset of seizures (she was 9 at the time), vet said to monitor her ALT (liver enzyme) as it was slightly elevated. Over time, that ALT figure went up (reached 500+) and we eventually took her to an internist and after an ultrasound, biopsy, etc. diagnosed her with liver hepatitis secondary to copper. Doctor did not have a clear conclusion on whether the liver issues was the root cause of her seizures. Note - her ultrasound was clean, biospy done due to specific scarring of the liver which suggested some sort of hepatitis.
She then went through a 4+ month period of prednisone, coupled with ursodiol, penicillamine and a change to a low-copper diet. Her ALTs came down significantly and is now in the normal range. We took her off prednisone after her last blood test (about 10 days ago) and were really excited / hopeful that she was back to her normal self.
As she waned off the prednisone we noticed she started to have a small limp in the morning but we weren't too concerned because it would only last a few minutes before she would start running around the house again - we thought it was maybe stiffness related to her weight gain from the steroids.
Yesterday, we took her on a couple walks (30+ mins, 80+ degrees outside) and she seemed really out of breath and tired so we slowed down and just relaxed / ate outside for dinner, etc. While we were eating, she had another grand mal seizure (lasted about 60 seconds) which was really disappointing because we thought we were done with the seizures.
Today we are noticing that her limp is getting a little worse and she is getting more selective about her food. She refuses to eat her bowl of food, but will still run to me for treats.
Her internist is in a different state so not completely accessible at the moment but we have her scheduled to go to the vet. Looking for some advice or thoughts from a vet or anyone with similar experiences! Thank you.
About a year ago, she had 2 grand mal seizures on 2 separate days, about a month apart (both days on hot, sunny days with light exercise) - we brought her to the vet both times with no major findings from bloodwork or physical examination. Given late onset of seizures (she was 9 at the time), vet said to monitor her ALT (liver enzyme) as it was slightly elevated. Over time, that ALT figure went up (reached 500+) and we eventually took her to an internist and after an ultrasound, biopsy, etc. diagnosed her with liver hepatitis secondary to copper. Doctor did not have a clear conclusion on whether the liver issues was the root cause of her seizures. Note - her ultrasound was clean, biospy done due to specific scarring of the liver which suggested some sort of hepatitis.
She then went through a 4+ month period of prednisone, coupled with ursodiol, penicillamine and a change to a low-copper diet. Her ALTs came down significantly and is now in the normal range. We took her off prednisone after her last blood test (about 10 days ago) and were really excited / hopeful that she was back to her normal self.
As she waned off the prednisone we noticed she started to have a small limp in the morning but we weren't too concerned because it would only last a few minutes before she would start running around the house again - we thought it was maybe stiffness related to her weight gain from the steroids.
Yesterday, we took her on a couple walks (30+ mins, 80+ degrees outside) and she seemed really out of breath and tired so we slowed down and just relaxed / ate outside for dinner, etc. While we were eating, she had another grand mal seizure (lasted about 60 seconds) which was really disappointing because we thought we were done with the seizures.
Today we are noticing that her limp is getting a little worse and she is getting more selective about her food. She refuses to eat her bowl of food, but will still run to me for treats.
Her internist is in a different state so not completely accessible at the moment but we have her scheduled to go to the vet. Looking for some advice or thoughts from a vet or anyone with similar experiences! Thank you.